Two Airports Are Perched Atop The U.S. Ranks In 2025

For the first time ever, the top two “ports” for U.S. merchandise trade are airports.

This is particularly counterintuitive given that the nation’s top three trade partners largely rely on border crossings (Canada, Mexico) and seaports (China) and account for more than one-third of all U.S. trade.

Through May, New York’s JFK International Airport and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport ranked first and second for the value of their trade, according to my analysis of the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.

Trade at JFK has increased 99.72%, just short of doubling from the same five months of the previous year, while O’Hare’s trade is up 57.66%, a percentage that would be astronomical in normal times but seems not-so-extraordinary in the shadow of JFK.

Despite President Trump’s focus on diminishing the U.S. trade deficit through a trade war with the world, much of the increase for JFK is in imports while the preponderance of O’Hare’s is imports.

In what has historically been the relatively stable world of export-import trade, it is just one of many disruptions unleashed by the whirlwind two terms of President Trump as he took aim at the $1 trillion U.S. trade deficit.

Here are a few other disruptions:

That disruption shows up in many ways.

Consider that the United States has had three different top trade partners in five years (China, Canada, Mexico), three top exports in three years (civilian aircraft and parts, oil, refined petroleum), two top imports in three years (passenger vehicles and oil), and two top ports in three years (Port Laredo, Port of Los Angeles).

But never have two airports ranked first and second annually.

Through May, JFK’s $197.1 billion total was the most for any U.S. airport, seaport or border crossing. O’Hare’s $176.4 billion put it in the No. 2 position. Port Laredo, the reigning No. 1 on an annual basis, was third, at $145.8 billion, and the Port of Los Angeles ranked fourth at $130.2 billion.

At this time last year, JFK ranked fourth, not first, and O’Hare ranked third, not second.

I wrote about the phenomenal growth in the value of trade at these two airports two months ago but here’s a quick summation:

Gold has been rushing into JFK, overwhelmingly from Switzerland, where much of the world’s gold is processed. It’s generally seen as a sign of jitters among the investor community, which often seeks the shelter of gold in uncertain times.

Medicines of numerous stripes have been rushing into O’Hare, largely from Ireland. If you will allow me to tie the gold trade to Wall Street, certainly an oversimplification, then say the increased trade at O’Hare can be tied to Main Street, people across the country in need of medicines to fight every imaginable problem.

Given the $30 billion difference between O’Hare in second place and Port Laredo in third place, it looks like 2025 might just be the year two airports rank first and second among all the nation’s airports, seaports and border crossings for the value of their trade.